A man walked by a group of bricklayers toiling, sweating under a hot sun.
The man approached a bricklayer and asked, "What is it you're doing here?"
"What does it look like I'm doing?!" the worker snapped, annoyed. "I'm out here breaking my back in the sun to feed my family."
The man moved on and spoke to another bricklayer. "Excuse me. I don't mean to distract you, but what are you doing?"
The second bricklayer confidently replied, "I'm laying these bricks to build the outer wall of this building. I must place them just right so this wall is secure and strong."
The man kept walking and finally asked a third bricklayer, "What are you doing?"
The last bricklayer took a step back and looked to the sky. "I'm constructing a grand cathedral where the people of our town will congregate, fill their souls, and feel the inspiration to pursue the dreams in their hearts."
All the bricklayers were doing the same activity but each was performing much different work.
The first bricklayer couldn't see beyond the moment he was in. It was just bricks to earn a paycheck.
The second bricklayer could see a little further. The bricks were building blocks of a wall for which he was responsible.
But the final bricklayer saw the furthest.
He understood the bigger purpose of his work. He wasn't laying bricks, building a wall, or even constructing a building.
He was creating something with deeper meaning and lasting value beyond himself. He wasn’t laying bricks or crafting a wall.
He was changing lives.
laying bricks isn't mundane when you know you're building a cathedral